Boxscore
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Hosting West Chester University outscored Slippery Rock University by a 30-15 margin in the final 12 minutes of action Saturday afternoon en route to a 69-55 victory in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference “crossover” men's basketball action.
The final margin matched the largest lead held by either team in the opening game of each squad's PSAC schedule.
The Rock (1-1 overall, 0-1 PSAC) held a 40-39 lead with just over 10 minutes left to play in the PSAC opener for both teams before the Golden Rams (2-1, 1-0) scored six unanswered points.
SRU twice trimmed the margin to three points in next few minutes of action, but was never able to retake the lead.
Senior guards
Aubin Reeves and
Jon Valeriano each scored 12 points to lead The Rock in scoring, while senior forward
Devin Taylor chipped in nine points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Lance McDowell scored a game-high 17 points for West Chester.
The winners shot 46% (26-56) from the field, made 42% (5-12) of their 3-point shots and canned 71% (12-17) of their free throws.
The Rock, meanwhile, made only 34% (19-56) of their field goal attempts, hit 24% (5-21) of their 3-point shots and sank 52% (12-23) of their charity tosses.
SRU held a 37-35 rebounding edge, but committed more turnovers, 19-16.
The Rock seeks to regain its winning ways Sunday when it takes on Millersville University on the Marauders' home court. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
In Saturday's game, SRU scored 13 of the last 19 first-half points to trim West Chester's lead to only one point, 26-25, heading into the halftime intermission.
The guests completely erased the deficit and tied the score at 31-31 with 18:15 left to play in the game en route to the aforementioned 40-39 edge with 12 minutes remaining that proved to be their final lead of the game.
Following their game in Millersville, The Rock turns its attention to a Nov. 26 home game vs. Seton Hill. Tipoff in Morrow Field House is set for 3 p.m.
